BiteSizeBaker.com » Cookies & Bars

Chocolate and Vanilla Moonstone Cookies

Bitesizebaker — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 04:40:04 +0000

You know those days where you just need a cookie? Yeah, today was one of those days for me. Naturally the cookie had to include chocolate. I quickly decided on Chocolate and Vanilla Moonstones from Carole Walter’s Great Cookies. Chocolate and vanilla in one cookie? How could I pass it up?

The verdict? Yum. That pretty much sums it up.

I assumed they would be the texture of a sugar cookie, but was pleasantly surprised with a more of a soft, “cakey” cookie. The chocolate flavor wasn’t as sweet as it could be, so next time, in place of the unsweetened chocolate, I will try bittersweet to give it a bit more of a chocolate kick.

You could even tint the dough with vegetable coloring to make all sorts of pretty cookies for any occasion. Holidays, parties, Mondays, you name it!

Chocolate and Vanilla Moonstones
adapted from Great Cookies

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly firm
1 cup superfine sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 teaspoons hot water, divided
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 375°F. Prepare the cookie sheets by moderately buttering.

In a small bowl, melt the chocolate over hot water. Keep warm.

Sift together the flour, salt, baking soda and cream of tartar. Set aside.

Place the butter in a large mixing bowl (or stand mixer bowl, fitted with paddle attachment) and mix on medium-low speed until smooth. Add the superfine sugar and mix until well blended, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add the vanilla and egg and mix until just barely blended.

Reduce the mixer speed to low; add in half of the flour mixture with 2 teaspoons of the hot water. Stop and scrape bowl then add in the remaining flour mixture, mixing until just barely combined.

Measure out about one-third (about 1 cup) of the dough and place it in a separate bowl. With a fork, blend in the remaining 1 teaspoon of hot water. Add the warm melted chocolate and blend until it is fully incorporated with the dough. Let the batter sit for 10 minutes to thicken. The consistency should be similar to the vanilla batter.

Scoop 1/2 teaspoon of each batter and place one on top of the other on the cookie sheet.

Roll each mound of dough into a uniform ball shape and space about 2 inches apart. Just a note, I had to wipe my hands between rolling every couple of cookies because the chocolate residue on my hands was coloring the vanilla dough.

Place the 2 tablespoons of sugar in a flat dish. Dip the heel of your hand into the sugar and flatten the dough into 2 1/2-inch round disks.

Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until the edges just start to brown. Let the cookies stand on the sheets for a few minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool. Makes about 4 dozen 3-inch cookies.

They can be stored for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container, layered between strips of wax paper.

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© Stormie for BiteSizeBaker.com, 2009. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: chocolate, Cookies & Bars, great cookies, vanilla

Chocolate Citrus Biscotti

Bitesizebaker — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 03:08:27 +0000

This months Cookie Carnival recipe is Chocolate Citrus Biscotti (flavored with orange and lemon zest) from Giada De Laurentiis via the Food Network.

I love anything citrus. I can eat all the navel oranges you can put in front of me. In my opinion, Florida grows the best oranges. Of course, I may be a bit biased as I grew up in the middle of a county that is home to approximately 95,050 acres of commercial orange groves. In case you were wondering, that’s a ton of oranges!

Back to the biscotti… This is a recipe I plan on baking again and again. It was absolutely wonderful. I loved the cornmeal texture. It’s something I hadn’t tried before with biscotti. It got even better when dipped in hot coffee. Y-u-m-m-y.

I had my doubts that it would be citrus-y enough for my liking, but I was pleasantly surprised with the flavor. It was just right and they smelled absolutely wonderful as they baked!

A couple of notes:

I found the dough to be really soft when trying to form it into logs. It kept wanting to spread outward. In the end, I had more of a large rectangle rather than a well formed log. It still worked though, they were just a little wider than originally intended.

The recipe says it makes 3 dozen. Somehow, I only came out with about 1 dozen. Probably due to the aforementioned widening of the logs.

On the last round of baking I cut the baking time to 20 minutes instead of 25.

Also, there are a few reviews on Food Network’s site saying the biscotti was extremely hard. I didn’t find it to be that hard. Yes, it was a bit harder than some biscotti I have baked but it wasn’t break-your-teeth hard.

For an extra touch, I chopped some walnuts and sprinkled them on the chocolate before it set.

They are even delicious for breakfast. Not that I had any for breakfast. This is just hypothetically speaking of course….sort of….

Get the recipe: Chocolate Citrus Biscotti

Also, if you haven’t already, check out the Cookie Carnival!

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© Stormie for BiteSizeBaker.com, 2009. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Biscotti, chocolate, citrus, cookie carnival, Cookies & Bars, lemon, orange

Spanish Peanut Saucers

Bitesizebaker — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 02:38:10 +0000

After reading Great Cookies cover to cover, I finally settled which cookie to bake first. It was tough, I’m not gonna lie. There are so many great recipes to choose from. The spanish peanut saucers just looked so wonderfully delicious!

I’ve never been a huge peanut butter cookie fan but after baking these, I’m having second thoughts. Sometimes I find peanut butter cookies can tend to be dry (am I the only one that thinks that?). Thankfully these were really moist and soft. The addition of chopped spanish peanuts in the dough and sugar-crusted whole Spanish peanuts on top really adds a nice texture to them.

This picture is slightly deceiving… these things are huge, measuring in at about 4″ across! Which makes sense as to why they were in the “Big Boys” chapter of the cookbook. I think that’s my favorite chapter so far. Great cookies, page after page.

Did you know it’s National Cookie Month? It’s also National Popcorn Poppin’ Month, Celebrate Sun Dried Tomatoes Month, National Pickled Peppers Month and my personal favorite, National Toilet Tank Repair Month. Just in case you were wondering. Hey, you never know when you might need to know this stuff.

Spanish Peanut Saucers
adapted from Great Cookies: Secrets to Sensational Sweets

2 cups salted Spanish peanuts, divided
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups creamy peanut butter
1 1/3 cups sugar, plus 3 tablespoons, divided
5 egg whites, divided
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 teaspoons water

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Put 1/2 cup of the Spanish peanuts in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add flour, baking soda and salt. Pulse until the peanuts are chopped really small, about 1/4 inch.

In a 3-quart sauce pan, melt the butter slowly over low heat. Set aside and cool to tepid. Whisk in the peanut butter until smooth. Stir in 1 1/3 cups of the sugar and mix until smooth. Add four of the egg whites, and mix thoroughly. Blend in the vanilla. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the flour mixture in three additions, mixing until just combined. Be careful not to over mix.

Whisk the remaining egg white with the water in a shallow bowl. Place the remaining 1 1/2 cups peanuts in a wide shallow dish. For each cookie, measure the dough into a 1/4-cup measure. Dip the top side of the each cookie into the egg white, then into the peanuts, making sure to coat them generously. Place the dough, peanut side up, on the cookie sheet and press the top gently with the heel of your hand, flattening the ball into a 3-inch disk that is about 1/2 inch thick. Place cookies 3 inches apart on each cookie sheet (about 6 per sheet). Sprinkle the tops with about 1/2 teaspoon of the remaining sugar.

Bake for 14 to 16 minutes or until the sides are slightly brown and tops are set. Let the cookies cool on the sheets for about 5 minutes before moving them to a wire rack. You can store them in an airtight container up to 5 days or freeze them.

Makes about 16 4-inch cookies.

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© Stormie for BiteSizeBaker.com, 2009. | Permalink | 5 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Cookies & Bars, great cookies, peanut butter cookies, peanut cookies

Black-Bottom Coconut Bars

Bitesizebaker — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 16:46:45 +0000

This is my first Cookie Carnival recipe! Yummy Black-Bottom Coconut Bars.

I stumbled upon the Cookie Carnival recently and I had to join immediately because as we all know, I love a good cookie. Well, any cookie really. Plus, I figured it would give me a good chance to broaden my cookie horizons and try recipes from different cookbooks/sources.

Lately I’ve kinda been stuck in a Martha Stewart rut. I have both her cookie and cupcake books, which are both completely fabulous, but I find myself turning to them over and over again. So, when I learned the recipe for this months Cookie Carnival, wouldn’t it just figure it’s a Martha recipe. That’s okay though. I’m not complaining one little bit. I think Martha is just super. I’m just not sure how she feels about me though. Or if she knows I exist… which I’m 99% sure she doesn’t. Okay, okay, moving on.

Out of my entire family, only one other person (besides myself) likes coconut. Isn’t that sad? So for this recipe, they’re just out of luck! Which means I get half of the yummy bars to myself. Yay for me, not so much for my waistline.

The bars were great!. They were really great! They made me realize that I don’t bake with coconut enough. I will have to fix that. Soon.

The recipe is relatively simple. No mixers or fancy gadgets, just bowls and a whisk.

Get the recipe here.

If you haven’t already, check out the Cookie Carnival.

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© Stormie for BiteSizeBaker.com, 2009. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: chocolate, coconut, cookie bars, cookie carnival, Cookies & Bars

Chocolate Pistachio Biscotti

Bitesizebaker — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 22:40:11 +0000

Slowly but surely I have been baking my way through Martha Stewart’s Cookies book. When I have a cookie craving, this is the book I turn to. So the other night when I was in the baking mood I flipped through and waited for something to jump out at me. Figuratively speaking, of course.

I’ve made plain biscotti before, so this time around, I wanted to try something new. This might just become a favorite from now on. It has several things going for it. Firstly, it’s chocolate. Enough said. But also, the slightly salty taste of the pistachios pairs perfectly with just the right amount of sweetness. In other words, this biscotti rocks!

Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt, set aside. Beat sugar and butter; add eggs. Lightly beat in flour mixture.

Mmmmm… Look at the chocolaty goodness. Can it get any better?!?!

Oh yeah, it can! Just throw in some semi-sweet chocolate chips and pistachios!

Form the stiff dough into a flattened log and bake for about 25 minutes. Cool a bit then cut diagonally across to form 1-inch-thick slices; place them cut sides down on the cookie sheet. Then, just pop ‘em back in the oven for 8 min. Voilà!

Also, try dipping them in your favorite beverage. Coffee, tea, hot chocolate, you name it!

Chocolate Pistachio Biscotti
adapted from Martha Stewart’s Cookies (pg 246)

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup shelled pistachios (4 1/2 ounces)
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Butter cookie sheet and set aside.

Preaheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. (I used my Silpat)

Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt into a small bowl. Beat Butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs; beat on low speed until well combined. Add flour mixture and beat to form stiff dough. Beat in pistachios and chocolate chips just until combined.

Transfer dough to prepared baking sheet; form into a slightly flattened log, about 12 by 4 inches. Bake until slightly firm, about 25 minutes. Cool 5 minutes. Reduce oven to 300°F.

On a cutting board, using a sharp serrated knife, cut biscotti diagonally into 1-inch-thick slices. Arrange cut sides down on baking sheet; bake until crisp but still slightly soft in center, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.

Makes about 1 dozen.

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© Stormie for BiteSizeBaker.com, 2009. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Biscotti, chocolate, Cookies & Bars, Pistachio

Brown-Butter Toffee Blondies

Bitesizebaker — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 16:34:00 +0000

I don’t have a reason for baking these. No birthdays, holidays or special occasions. But really, does one really need a reason to bake? I didn’t think so.

I came across the recipe while I was flipping through Martha Stewart’s Cookies. My mom’s favorite candy bar is the Heath Bar so I immediately thought of her when I saw the recipe. Plus, I found a bag of actual heath bar toffee bits (I think its called Bits ‘O Brickle) in the baking section of my local supermarket so I just had to make them.

The history of the Heath toffee bar is quite interesting. According to the Hershey site, the recipe for the bar was perfected by the Heath brothers in 1928. It was made by completely by hand until 1942. During World War II, the U.S. Government contracted with Heath to produce bars for military distribution. Okay, okay, back to the blondies…

To be honest, I didn’t really know what brown butter was. Isn’t that sad? I had heard of it before but never understood what actually was or how to make it. I guess I should have figured it out from the name; brown butter. Just cook until it browns slightly. Duh! Although it did take a lot longer than I expected to brown the butter, the results are totally worth it! The subtle nutty flavor is just superb!

These blondie cookie bars are ones I will be making again, for sure! And yes, mom loved them.

Brown-Butter Toffee Blondies
adapted from Martha Stewart’s Cookies

1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, plus more for pan
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 cups packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup chopped walnuts (about 4 ounces)
1 cup toffee bits

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 13×9-inch baking pan. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper; butter and flour parchment.

In a saucepan over medium heat, cook the butter until it turns golden brown. Remove from heat and let cool. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.

In a large mixing bowl, combine browned butter and both sugars; stir until combined. Add eggs, one at a time and beat with an electric mixer on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add vanilla and beat to combine. Add the flour mixture, walnuts, and toffee bits. Mix until throughly combined; pour into prepared pan.

Bake until tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes (do not overbake). Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool completely before turning out onto a cutting board. Peel off parchment paper. You can either cut into shapes with cookie cutters or cut into squares. The blondies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Makes about 1 dozen (3 to 3 1/2-inch) bars .

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© Stormie for BiteSizeBaker.com, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Blondie Bars, Blondies, cookie bars, Cookies & Bars, Toffee

Rainy days and Key Lime Bars

Bitesizebaker — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 04:10:38 +0000

During the summer months here in Florida we have our (almost) daily afternoon thunderstorms. Some days the storms don’t stick to just the afternoon; Instead, it rains all day. So today I decided to brighten things up a bit with Key Lime Bars. The tart lime taste is incredible with a great flaky, buttery crust. Top ‘em with confectioners’ sugar and I don’t think it could get much better. They always take me back to the sunny beaches of the Florida Keys.

To make the crust:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 13×9-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Combine flour, confectioners’ sugar, and baking powder in medium bowl.

Cut in butter using a pastry blender until mixture is crumbly. I used a fork but It would be much easier and faster with a pastry cutter. But again, the fork worked.

Press mixture into pan.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until crust is lightly browned.

To make the Key Lime filling:

While the crust is in the oven, combine eggs, sugar, key lime juice, flour and baking powder.

I couldn’t find fresh key limes at my grocery store so I opted for the next best thing, Nellie & Joe’s Famous Key West Lime Juice. You could also use regular lime juice but then they would be just Lime Bars.

Pour the liquid mixture over hot crust. Bake for 22 to 25 minutes or until lightly browned.

Before cutting into bars, cool completely. Dust with confectioners’ sugar.

Thats really all there is to it. It’s a quick and easy recipe; perfect for taking to get-togethers!

They are really good cold or frozen too!

Key Lime Bars

Crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup (2 sticks) butter

Key Lime Filling:
5 large eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup key lime juice
1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 13×9-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Crust:
Combine flour, confectioners’ sugar, and baking powder in medium bowl. Cut in butter using a pastry blender (or fork) until mixture is crumbly. Press mixture into pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until mixture is lightly browned.

Key Lime Filling:

While the crust is in the oven, combine eggs, sugar, key lime juice, flour and baking powder. Pour over hot crust. Bake for 22 to 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Before cutting into bars, cool completely. Dust with confectioners’ sugar.

Makes about 2 dozen bars.

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Post tags: cookie bars, Cookies & Bars, Key Lime

Banana-Walnut Chocolate-Chunk Cookies

Bitesizebaker — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 08:07:31 +0000

Wow.

These are beyond good… There are hardly any words…. mind-blowing… magnificent!

It’s like eating a chocolate chip cookie on top of a slice of warm banana bread, but all in one bite! Mmmmm! The walnuts and oats give it a nice texture and thickness compared to just a normal cookie. Promise me you will try these. Pretty please.

I used a 2 teaspoon cookie scoop to drop the dough onto the sheets. I have always used two spoons to scoop the dough but this made it so much easier. And fun! Plus they all came out to a consistent size.

Yummy. That’s all I have to say about that.

Banana-Walnut Chocolate-Chunk Cookies
adapted from Martha Stewart’s Cookies

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup mashed ripe banana (about 1 large)
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped into 1/4-inch chunks
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (about 2 ounces), toasted

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Measure all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, coarse salt and baking soda. Combine in medium mixing bowl; whisk together.

Combine butter, granulated sugar and light brown sugar in bowl (or electric mixer bowl). Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Add in egg and vanilla; mix on low speed until combined. Mix in mashed banana. Gradually add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Stir in oats, chocolate chunks and toasted walnuts.

Using a 2 teaspoon cookie scoop, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper (or cookie sheet liner) spacing about 2 inches apart. Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, 12 to 13 minutes until golden brown and just set. Place pans on wire racks and let cool 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks; let cool completely. Store cookies in airtight containers at room temperature up to 2 days.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

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Post tags: banana, chocolate, Cookies & Bars